Page 487 - Week 03 - Tuesday, 13 March 2007
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Two hundred years ago, William Wilberforce was the one who realised the true horror of the slave trade. It was right under his nose. It was the backbone of the British economy. It was wrong and it was growing. Driven by his deep Christian faith, he was compelled to act on his convictions.
The same spirit that whispered in William Wilberforce’s ear “End slavery; turn the key; free the slaves!” is the spirit that should move us today. Today in the world there are more slaves than there were in 1807, when William Wilberforce succeeded in abolishing the slave trade. The abolitionists of the 18th and 19th centuries generated a mass movement of people who campaigned for the end of slavery. In 2007, campaigners want to do the same—inform people about the evils of human trafficking, call for a change that will prevent the sale of the poor, prosecute the traffickers and protect the victims.
On 25 March this year we celebrate Freedom Day, which is the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade act, a significant moment in the fight to end the evils of the slave trade. As I have said already, today there are more slaves than in 1807. As William Wilberforce was forced to act, we are being asked to act. We have to do it all over again—and this time, abolish trafficking for good, in all its forms.
Freedom Day on 25 March is not just a celebration of history, but a moment to be inspired by the champions of the past—to help us fight for freedom: the freedom of every human being. Human beings have the right to be free and not to be someone else’s slave. We have to turn the key and once again unlock the dreams for freedom.
One of the keys to unlocking people from slavery and setting people free is ensuring that smugglers are rounded up and prosecuted. As I have said in this place on a number of occasions, one of the best models for that is the situation in Italy. Next month I will meet authorities dealing with victims and fighting perpetrators in the Marche, Abruzzo and Molise regions in Italy. In Italy there is a policy of not only comprehensive victim protection, but also integration into the general community. They give unconditional protection, and this has a great trade-off. This compassionate approach leads to increased rates of arrest and conviction of traffickers; in the past, several smuggling rings have been broken up.
While I will be unable to participate in Freedom Day in Australia, I hope that my activities in Italy at the time will in some small way contribute to the worldwide movement for freedom from slavery. I recommend that members participate in some way in Freedom Day and associated activities on 25 March and that, at the very least, they sign on to the Stop the Traffik declaration at the website www.stopthetraffik.org.au. I also recommend that they support other activities in Canberra in that week, including the keynote address by Professor David Balderstone on 27 March in the main committee room of Parliament House at 5.15. Other speakers at that event will be Mr Tim Costello from World Vision, who is organising and coordinating events for Stop the Traffik days in Australia, and other authorities who have experience and expertise in dealing with trafficking in Australia. It is a cause that I recommend most heartily to all members.
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